Supporting the eyewear industry going green with bio-composites

I have recently been contacted by a R&D engineer from a “global leader in eyewear” industry to know my thoughts on bio-composites: the state of the art and currently applications. Here you have the summary of this very interesting collaboration.

The eyewear industry make mainly use of synthetic polymers, such as Polyamide 12 and its derivatives and of cellulose acetate. Actually, there are niche production of carbon fibre composite frames too

Weight reduction in composite boats

Some time ago, I was asked by a free-lance writer working for one of those composite dedicated magazines an insight into “Weight reduction in composite boats”. What follows is the result of the job done.  It comes by reviewing the documentation I’ve been collecting over the years and from my direct experience. For instance, as structural analyst, I engineered the sheltered deck you can see in the picture below.

Of course, it can only be a starting point, moreover it is dated 2008. I’m pretty sure for most of you all of this could sound obvious, then I hope you will add and share your views.

The sheltered-deck

A bit of background

Why weight reduction in boats matters

Similarly to any transportation system, the lighter is the craft, the bigger is the payload with no extra consumption. Payload examples are from troops with their equipments in the defence applications to the galleys or fuel tanks in the high luxury motor craft sector. When payload is not the issue, fuel saving or smaller engines could be the options. Not to forget the reduced maintenance cost associated to the smaller propulsion systems.

In addition, the Physics of sailing says